Written Answers Friday 26 June 2009

Scottish Executive

Courts

Gavin Brown (Lothians) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how much was due in outstanding fines in each sheriff court in the Lothians region in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Kenny MacAskill: Over the five-year period 2004 to 2008, a total of £32.8 million in court fines was registered in the Sheriffdom of Lothian and Borders. For those fines still to be paid £0.7 million (2%) is in the process of being collected through agreed instalments and £2.1 million (6%) is currently in arrears, due to part or full payment default.

  Collection figures for fines imposed over a five-year period will clearly show smaller amounts for the earlier years - and conversely larger amounts for the most recent years - since outstanding fines are collected over time, often through agreed installments over a number of years. Since March 2008, a team of dedicated Fines Enforcement Officers has used a range of sanctions including deduction from benefit and wages arrestment to tackle fines defaulters available to them. Collection rates are improving as a result.

  The figures for each sheriff court are set out in the following tables:

  2004

  

Sheriffdom
Value of Accounts Registered (£)
Balance Being Collected Through Instalments as at May 2009 (£)
Balance in Arrears as at May 2009 (£)


Duns
70,639
-
1,902


Edinburgh
2,135,739
14,203
38,435


Haddington
205,748
125
528


Jedburgh
146,675
2,137
4,155


Linlithgow
574,573
254
3,170


Peebles
61,533
-
145


Selkirk
131,811
1,640
3,250


Totals
3,326,717
18,360
51,585



  2005

  

Sheriffdom
Value of Accounts Registered (£)
Balance Being Collected Through Instalments as at May 2009 (£)
Balance in Arrears as at May 2009 (£)


Duns
70,875
440
4,791


Edinburgh
17,427,422
10,563
43,169


Haddington
186,171
955
5,160


Jedburgh
174,574
1,300
7,499


Linlithgow
585,299
2,198
11,814


Peebles
51,323
-
2,015


Selkirk
168,276
821
2,776


Totals
18,663,941
16,277
77,225



  2006

  

Sheriffdom
Value of Accounts Registered (£)
Balance Being Collected Through Instalments as at May 2009 (£)
Balance in Arrears as at May 2009 (£)


Duns
62,706
2,657
10,716


Edinburgh
2,649,895
46,908
154,434


Haddington
162,334
812
9,211


Jedburgh
134,535
6,433
14,925


Linlithgow
541,395
2,785
16,277


Peebles
56,704
3,113
5,764


Selkirk
162,423
5,669
10,285


Totals
3,769,993
68,377
221,612



  2007

  

Sheriffdom
Value of Accounts Registered (£)
Balance Being Collected Through Instalments as at May 2009 (£)
Balance in Arrears as at May 2009 (£)


Duns
57,785
4,138
7,871


Edinburgh
2,154,615
93,491
379,606


Haddington
189,108
8,860
27,678


Jedburgh
111,826
9,693
14,881


Linlithgow
427,606
14,383
35,400


Peebles
52,421
1,487
8,659


Selkirk
119,822
10,623
11,671


Totals
3,113,184
142,674
485,766



  2008

  

Sheriffdom
Value of Accounts Registered (£)
Balance Being Collected Through Instalments as at May 2009 (£)
Balance in Arrears as at May 2009 (£)


Duns
61,264
13,676
9,645


Edinburgh
2,997,242
273,146
1,123,547


Haddington
178,136
26,424
38,518


Jedburgh
114,125
36,574
17,458


Linlithgow
402,125
74,616
76,636


Peebles
44,055
5,227
6,754


Selkirk
96,093
17,998
15,744


Totals
3,893,040
447,660
1,288,301



  

 
Value of Accounts Registered
Balance being collected through instalments as at May 2009
Balance in arrears as at May 2009


Five year totals
£32,766,875
£693,348
£2,124,489

Equal Pay

Cathy Jamieson (Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many claims for equal pay have been settled, broken down by local authority.

Cathy Jamieson (Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many claims for equal pay are outstanding, broken down by local authority.

John Swinney: This information is not held centrally. Issues relating to pay settlements are a matter for individual local authorities as independent corporate bodies.

Fuel Poverty

Mary Mulligan (Linlithgow) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many householders have phoned the Energy Saving Scotland Advice Centre regarding the Energy Assistance Package.

Mary Mulligan (Linlithgow) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many householders have been offered benefit and tax credit checks and advice on low-cost energy tariffs since the launch of the Energy Assistance Package.

Mary Mulligan (Linlithgow) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many householders have been offered a free package of insulation measures since the launch of the Energy Assistance Package.

Mary Mulligan (Linlithgow) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many householders have qualified for enhanced measures since the launch of the Energy Assistance Package.

Alex Neil: Statistics on the Energy Assistance Package (EAP) are available at:

  http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/scotland/Scotland/Energy-Assistance-Package/Programme-Statistics.

  The most recent data available is provided in the following table:

  Type of Help Provided

  

 
This Month (May 09)
Year-to-Date
(e.g. 6 April to 31 May)


Numbers Helped
 
 


Households
1,556
3,078


Types of help
 
 


Energy saving advice 
1,509
2,976


Income maximisation referral 
402
881


Secured increased income
-
-


Social tariff signposting
546
1,167


Moved on to social tariff
-
75


Referred for EAP Stage 3
515
872


Referred for EAP Stage 4
352
586


Cavity wall insulation 
-
-


Loft insulation
-
-


Other insulation
-
-


Draught proofing
-
-


Gas heating system
-
-


Non-gas heating system 
-
-


Legacy Warm Deal installations
418
981


Legacy Central Heating Programme installations
829
1,584



  Historically, applications to the Central Heating Programme (CHP) have been lower in warmer months and applications to the EAP reflect this pattern. EST has developed a comprehensive marketing strategy to encourage people to apply and ensure that all eligible groups are targeted.

  It is still early to have information on outcomes of the package. As outcome information becomes available over time, through feedback from our delivery partners, we intend to publish the following indicators, both in total and on average for those households helped:

  

Estimated Outcome of Help To Date


Increase in income (£ per annum)


Reduction in fuel bills due to reduced tariff (£ p.a.)


Reduction in fuel bills due to energy efficiency measures (£ over lifetime of measures)


Average increase in energy efficiency of homes receiving stage 4 measures (SAP points)


Reduction in carbon (tonnes CO2 over lifetime of measures)

Roads

Rob Gibson (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much was spent, expressed in today’s prices, on major trunk road projects in the Moray local authority area from (a) 1999-2000 to 2002-03 and (b) 2003-04 to 2006-07; how much has been spent and is planned to be spent between 2007-08 and 2010-11, and how much is planned to be spent in each year from 2012 for which information is available.

John Swinney: Total expenditure on major trunk road projects in the Moray local authority area is as follows:

  

1999-2000 to 2002-03
(£ million)
2003-04 to 2006-07
(£ million)
2007-08 to 2010-11
(£ million)


1.700
0.729
28.519



  The current three year budget settlement does not extend beyond 2010-11.

Young Offenders

Gavin Brown (Lothians) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many prisoners under the age of 18 there were at HM Prison Edinburgh in each year since 2004.

Kenny MacAskill: I have asked Mike Ewart, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. His response is as follows:

  The SPS does not hold the historical data in the format requested. There are currently 13 young offenders under the age of 18 in custody within HMP Edinburgh.

Correction

The reply to question S3O-7446 which was originally answered on 18 June 2009, has been corrected: see page 6740 or http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/business/pqa/wa-09/wa0623.htm.